James Craig, a former Detroit Police Chief, arrives to announce he is a Republican candidate for Governor of Michigan in Detroit, Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

James Craig, the leading candidate in Michigan’s GOP gubernatorial primary, repeatedly endorsed Florida’s new “Don’t Say Gay” law last week and even called for a “more aggressive” version of it for the state.

The former Detroit police chief first expressed his support for the law — championed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, whom Craig called “wonderful” — while speaking with Roop Raj on FOX 2 Detroit’s “Let It Rip” segment that aired last Thursday.

“Why are we going to have teachers teaching K through three [kindergarten through third grade] sexual orientation or gender identification? It’s wrong,” Craig said. “In fact, I’d be a little more aggressive with it. I would go beyond the third grade. Maybe the sixth grade. It shouldn’t be a conversation with teachers and students; that’s up to the parents.”

Craig confirmed with Raj that as governor, he would push for and sign a stricter version of Florida’s law.

But as the chief of the Detroit Police Department, Craig attended multiple LGBTQ Pride events and expressed his allyship for the LGBTQ community.

At a “community chat” for the Hotter Than July Black Pride festival in 2018, then-Chief Craig emphasized the need for local governments to make positive relationships with the LGBTQ community.

“Trust is about the ability to sit down and listen and talk with, not talk to,” Craig said, according to Pride Source’s original reporting. “I’ll say it again. Listen to and talk with. Because many times government official will come in and say, ‘This is what we need you to do.’ No, no, no. What do you want us to do? Because we’re the public servants. We serve you.”

He then gave thanks to Detroit’s LGBTQ community.

“Thank you for being great partners,” Craig reportedly said. “We couldn’t do it without you. Please keep the dialogue open so we can do more. I love each and every one of you. We’re here for you. Keep up the great work.”

Also, in 2019, then-Chief Craig personally helped raise the city’s first rainbow pride flag at the year’s Motor City Pride Festival.

“We are a community committed to inclusiveness, where everyone matters and everyone can contribute,” Craig said at the event, according to original reporting by Detroit Free Press.

According to the enrolled Florida House Bill 1557’s text, that law prohibits “classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity” in kindergarten through third grade. The ban can go even past third grade if the state finds the curriculum to be “not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students.”

The bill and DeSantis’ statements promoting it received wide condemnation from civil rights groups, LGBTQ advocates and even the White House, all of which said the new law promotes hate against LGBTQ youth.

“I want every member of the LGBTQI+ community — especially the kids who will be impacted by this hateful bill — to know that you are loved and accepted just as you are,” said President Joe Biden in a tweet sent after the bill passed the state senate’s education committee in February. “I have your back, and my Administration will continue to fight for the protections and safety you deserve.”